(V): "Mcdonalds has a lot to answer for regarding the obesity problem."

I blame McDonnalds for my weight problem. I never go there, but it's all their fault... I blame Bush too.

"The use of sweat shops, child labour deaths?"

So in other words, you support sweat shops that contribute to child labour deaths because you don't make your own clothes?

"Asbestos? The NHBC 10 year guarantee being worthless??"

You choose to live in substandard housing..

"...internet easiness was invented by someone working at CERN. IE a government paid scientist."

And today he single handedly runs all the businesses involved in making internet access available to you.


Did some kid build a computer in his garage and then give it to you?

"No I built it."

And you built all the parts and components from scratch, from rocks and dirt. And from tree branches and twigs you hand carved using a knife you made from raw iron ore heated by a fire you made from rubbing two sticks together. No evil business made anything you used to build your own computer. You even built a running wheel to generate your own electricity.

... The illegal arms trade?

HSBC provided a conduit for "drug kingpins and rogue nations", according to a US Senate committee investigating money laundering claims at the bank. Its report said suspicious funds from countries including Mexico, Iran and Syria had passed through the bank.

The committee is hearing from HSBC officials, one of whom said he found it "painful and embarrassing" to talk about the bank's shortcomings. HSBC's head of group compliance, David Bagley, stepped down at the hearing.

Mr Bagley told the committee that the bank had "fallen short of our own and regulators' expectations but that a major overhaul of the bank's compliance activities was underway and that HSBC had "learned a lot of valuable lessons".

He said despite being head of compliance he had not had full authority to act over all parts of the bank.

The bank said it was in the process of closing 20,000 accounts in the Cayman Islands as a result of the investigation.

Senator Carl Levin said HSBC's lack of controls at its US and overseas units had been "a recipe for trouble". Mr Levin is chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which is looking into HSBC's activities between 2006 and 2010.

Its report also says that some HSBC bank affiliates got round US government rules prohibiting financial transactions with Iran and certain other countries, in some cases assisting terrorism.

We can blame them therefore for supporting terrorists and drug barons??

... That was one thing about the 2012 Olympics .. the two biggest supporters are the two biggest suppliers into the food chain of products that are bad for your health.

Does anyone supersize now?

Iamon lyme: .....

"You can blame them for the food you eat."

Mcdonalds has a lot to answer for regarding the obesity problem.

"You can blame them for the clothes you wear."

The use of sweat shops, child labour deaths?

"You can blame them for the materials and labor that went into making your home."

Asbestos? The NHBC 10 year guarantee being worthless??

"You can blame them for your computer and for easy access to the internet. (I blame them for that)"

uh uh.. the internet easiness was invented by someone working at CERN. IE a government paid scientist.

"By the way, do you grow your own food"

Yes.. not all.

"Did some kid build a computer in his garage and then give it to you?"

No I built it.

(V): "I'm still waiting for a list from a conservative on this board on what we can blame on businesses."

You can blame them for the food you eat.
You can blame them for the clothes you wear.
You can blame them for the materials and labor that went into making your home.
You can blame them for your computer and for easy access to the internet. (I blame them for that)

Those are just a few examples. There's plenty of blame to go around, and no end to the products and services we can complain about.


By the way, do you grow your own food and make your own clothes? Did you build your own home and do you generate your own electricity? Did some kid build a computer in his garage and then give it to you?

Iamon lyme: Yes, I know I did... The big hint that I did was that those figures were in my post.

"You make it sound as though they got away with it."

They did for ten years.

"some people will try to cheat and get away with it. Is that really such a big surprise?"

Nope. Just another one in the long list of cheating companies.

I'm still waiting for a list from a conservative on this board on what we can blame on businesses.

Cheating customers seems to be one!!

(V): How does paying hefty money settlements translate into them being "allowed to rip people off"? You make it sound as though they got away with it.

The only real point you can make here is that some people will try to cheat and get away with it. Is that really such a big surprise?

(V): "As money makers they are allowed to rip people off."

"LG Display.. to pay $380m"
"Samsung paid $240m"
"Toshiba is to pay $21m"
"AU Optronics is to pay $170m."

You posted these facts, not me.

LG Display has agreed to pay $380m (£246m) to settle an LCD panel price-fixing case in the US.

The company denied doing anything wrong, but said it had agreed to a settlement to avoid "the expense and burden of protracted litigation".

It was the largest amount paid by any of the 10 companies that have settled the case, including Toshiba, Samsung, Sharp and Hitachi.

They were accused of fixing the prices of LCD panels between 1996 and 2006.

The money will go to US consumers and state governments. The alleged price fixing would have increased the prices of devices using LCD displays such as televisions and laptop computers.

Samsung paid $240m to settle the case in December, while Toshiba is to pay $21m and AU Optronics is to pay $170m.

>>>>>>> But it's ok, they make money. As money makers they are allowed to rip people off.

At least that is the Conservative American view!!

MissDelish: Because I'd thought you might wanna reply in the first party for a change!!

25 January 2012, New York

After today’s decision by the Federal Reserve to maintain the target fed funds rate at zero to 25 basis points, Swiss Re’s Chief Economist, Kurt Karl, commented: “Weak economic activity, moderating inflation and fiscal tightening will keep the Fed on hold through mid-2013, perhaps longer.”

Karl added: “Since last summer, the US economic prospects have proved to be resilient to the euro debt crisis. Growth continues, though still at a fairly moderate pace. Headline consumer price inflation has eased from 3.9% year-over-year in September to 3.0% in December. Fiscal stimulus will be weaker this year than in 2011, so growth is unlikely to accelerate substantially this year. Nevertheless, vehicle sales and residential construction, particularly of multi-family homes, will support growth this year. The euro debt crisis, coupled with Operation Twist, has bolstered demand for long-term Treasuries. In addition, the new set of forecasts from the FOMC members should help calm markets and provide guidance on expected future Fed policies. As a consequence, we have lowered our forecast of yields on the 10-year Treasury note to 2% - 2.5% by end-2012."

He continued: “In Europe, further steps continue to be taken to contain the crisis and stabilize the situation. This has been, encouragingly, sufficient to lower yields on Italian and Spanish government bonds from recent peaks. However, the problems are far from solved and it will take more time to implement needed structural and fiscal reforms. Despite some improvements, the Euro Area is most likely currently in recession. In the UK, fiscal policies continue to restrain growth and a mild recession now looks likely. On the other hand, Japan’s economy is recovering from the tsumani, so will support the global economy this year with real GDP growth of 2.2%. China's recent shift to expansionary monetary policy may have already begun to pay off, with Q4 growth a bit stronger than expected. Growth this year is expected to be 8.5%, lower than last year, but still robust.”

The Col: my prerogative :) being a woman that is.

MissDelish: women......

why am I the only one being picked up on "clever?" when both ArtfulDodger and LamonLyme both thought it was clever also.

MissDelish: Clever??

Iamon lyme: sure it wasn't looking like this....

http://php.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/images/d/df/Stage7.jpg

Iamon lyme: that is so clever....

Artful Dodger: "someone is very clever!"

Oh, you mean the painting of a kid looking up at a "spaceship"! I thought it was clever too. It's in the same style as the old Norman Rockwell paintings.

Artful Dodger: I can't take all the credit. Without (V)s insightful comments and pinpoint analysis I would have nothing to work with.

http://slacktory.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/drunk-baby-I-got-your-nose.jpg

Iamon lyme: someone is very clever!

(V): "Hallelujah!! .... was it a vision from the aliens??"

http://i.imgur.com/HCiwS.jpg

Iamon lyme: love the chess one lol

Iamon lyme: Oh great. Now I'm you again. Just when I was getting over my identity crisis.

Iamon lyme: yeah but the booze helps them sleep through the night

btw... "you da man" was a small point that a "you da man" feels it's right to tell women what to do with their bodies regarding babies. "you da man" says to women regardless of how (eg incest, rape) or the risks (to the mother) or if the baby is going to be so deformed that it's life quality will be zero.

"you da man" understand fully the impact on women in such cases.

Iamon lyme: The general consensus view on this board by most conservatives is that it's ALLLL the governments fault..... A real conservative always blames the government, always blames the "libs".

It is a surprise to hear someone 'conservative' state otherwise.

So, can you tell me what we can blame on businesses from a conservative view, so I can remember for later!!

Artful Dodger:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/Nitro2k/R5iKrONSvXI/AAAAAAAAAuo/YssYRwfQl9E/s400/1002.jpg

(V): "So is this finally an admission that you can't blame the government for everything."

Artful Dodger
28. June 2012, 11:08:10
Iamon lyme: All our troubles can be traced right back to the government.

So is this finally an admission that you believe AD and I are the same person? As I recall you appealed to the Mods to make us stop talking about it.

(V): "So is this finally an admission that you can't blame the government for everything."

Where did I say the government can be blamed for everything?

Iamon lyme: He just farted and said, "Woah! Did you hear that one?!"

Credit card companies Visa and Mastercard and major US banks have agreed to a $7.25bn (£4.65bn) settlement to retailers over card fees.

The case, which has been going on for seven years, is over firms colluding to fix the fees that stores pay to process credit and debt card payments.

The settlement is thought to be the largest of its kind in US history.

It involves a $6bn payment to stores and an agreement to reduce swipe fees for eight months, valued at $1.2bn.

An additional $525 million has been set aside to pay to the stores which sued individually, including grocery chains Kroger and Safeway and the Rite Aid pharmacy chain.
Previous settlements

The settlement involves credit card giants Visa and Mastercard, as well as major US banks which issue their cards including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citibank.

Craig Wildfang, the lead lawyer representing the merchants, told AFP: "Over time, the reforms induced by this case and in this settlement should help reduce card-acceptance costs to merchants, which in turn, will result in lower prices for all consumers."

Visa and Mastercard already paid a combined $3bn to settle a lawsuit over their "honour all cards" policies, which tied acceptance of credit to debit cards.

The US Department of Justice also brought and settled a civil suit against the two firms in 2010 over policies that prevented stores from offering their customers cheaper forms of payments.

..... yet another price fixing story... I'm so shocked!

NOT!!

Tax evasion economics...

"Tax evasion will cost the U.S. government $305 billion in 2010 and has cost $3 trillion over the past decade. It is a major contributor to budget deficits and the accumulation of national debt since 2001. Tax evasion also costs state treasuries billions of dollars. Every tax filer will pay an extra $2,200 in 2010 to make up for the funds lost to tax cheating. Even modest success in reducing tax evasion would free up significant new resources for spending or deficit reduction. Yet last week's budget deal nixed a proposal by the Obama Administration to strengthen the IRS' enforcement capacity. "

N' just like in the UK who had to write off £25,000,000,000 just before the 2012 New Year, Conservatives want to cut the ability of those departments to catch fraudsters.

Even though every dollar/pound spent on catching those breaking the law gets a return of at least 3 fold!!

Iamon lyme: So is this finally an admission that you can't blame the government for everything. So, as such a U turn on past stated statements that businesses are as pure as virgin snow!!

Hallelujah!! .... was it a vision from the aliens??

"..you da man.."

Thankfully you are not "da man". Well intended ideas based on ignorant concepts... or as previously known in the UK... "baby kissing for the camera" never do any good.

Iamon lyme: The master of pettifogging loves to complain that others do what only he does.

The knucklehead left loves to vilify the rich. But it's the rich that provide the majority of jobs in society. They are the ones that take the risks, sometimes winning and sometimes losing. We peons get the benefits of their efforts in jobs.

If the rich were to pay "their fair share" as Obama is calling for, it would generate 85 Billion more per year. Wow, a lot of money huh? Except that the US spends that amount every 8 1/2 days. And we all know that given more money, the Congress would put that money into paying down the debt right? Fat chance.

(V): "I'm sorry that you have to use the "big money" 'act'."

I didn't have to, but since you are so fond of ragging on and on against big business and greed and such, I thought I'd get in on the 'act' too.

"..you da man.."

If you say so.

"Can you stop trying to pettifog?"

Why, am I not doing it right?

Iamon lyme: I'm sorry that you have to use the "big money" 'act'. Next time you go on about health care prices rising please remember that it is big business that runs the show through lobbying. So many Repub's taking 'bribes' so stocks can look good.

Well done on ignoring facts and using the conservative blinker system when it comes to reality.

I'm sure all the women who'd face jail/death and injury if 'you da man' gets to decide for them will appreciate you being ill informed immensely!!

... NOT.

Iamon lyme: Can you stop trying to pettifog?

Lets end a BIG CONSERVATIVE LIE right now....

""An unsafe abortion is the termination of an unwanted pregnancy by persons lacking the necessary skills, or in an environment lacking minimal medical standards, or both.[1] For example, an unsafe abortion may refer to an extremely dangerous life-threatening procedure that is self-induced in unhygienic conditions, or it may refer to a much safer abortion performed by a medical practitioner who does not provide appropriate post-abortion attention.[2]

Unsafe abortion is a significant cause of maternal mortality and morbidity in the world. Most unsafe abortions occur where abortion is illegal,[3] or in developing countries where affordable well-trained medical practitioners are not readily available,[4][5] or where modern contraceptives are unavailable.[6] About one in eight pregnancy-related deaths worldwide is associated with unsafe abortion.""


Unsafe abortion is a major cause of injury and death among women worldwide. Although data are imprecise, it is estimated that approximately 20 million unsafe abortions are performed annually, with 97% taking place in developing countries.[31] Unsafe abortion is believed to result in approximately 69,000 deaths and millions of injuries annually.[31] The legal status of abortion is believed to play a major role in the frequency of unsafe abortion. For example, the 1996 legalization of abortion in South Africa had an immediate positive impact on the frequency of abortion-related complications,[34] with abortion-related deaths dropping by more than 90%.

Iamon lyme: most abortions of the "back alley" days were done by professional medical personal. Another lie from the baby killers.

Artful Dodger: (V) read me the feminist manifesto riot act from the 1970's. It's a bit outdated.

Abortion is big business and that means big money, so (V) can rest easy... the days of back alley abortions are a thing of the past. And all thanks to greed that argues in favor of convenience.

Iamon lyme: Women do have to live by "our" rules. A woman left her child unattended in her car and the child was taken away and the woman went to jail. Yeah, she broke the "rule."

(V): "...you tell all women that they have to live by your rules!!"

That's a lot of women. Can you be more specific?

Iamon lyme: I once explained to a woman on BK (no longer here) the exact procedure involved in partial birth (breech birth the baby, turn it over, jam a long needle into the base of its skull, suck out its brains, deliver the dead baby, go have coffee.

She called me a liar and never talked to me again. Sick idiot. She didn't even care enough to get her facts straight. Most pro choicers are like that: ignorant of facts.